Daventry

Any UK Bears fans know the skinny on coverage here for the Bears? I was all set to order Sky Sports and found out that Sky do not have the contract.... What gives? What is everyone doing?

Excellent post and I agree particularly with what was said about Cutler, and also wonder whether there is still some perception of him being a "quitter" amongst the other players. I really think it was a mistake that we let go of B Lloyd, he did well for us when he was with the Bears but seemed to lose favour with the coaching staff after his comment in the media about not playing with injuries..... I am hoping that Marshall will live up to all of his claims of being a changed man.

Is his career over due to physical issues or related to his temperament? He was an excellent receiver in his day, I cannot imagine no one giving him a shot.

I think we could be better this year but there are more questions than one would have liked given the sorry state of the line last year.... Let's hope Carimi will be healthy and stay healthy. Let's hope Louis and Webb show they are solid. Let's hope Garza does not suddenly become too old. Too many questions IMO....

I can definitely say I have never flipped off a camera totting paparazzi at the time I was the face/QB of the Chicago Bears. Nor would I whatever the guy did. No one is saying that Cutler is evil and should go straight to hell, this is not a judgment of his overall being. This is a comment on a particular behaviour....not the first such behaviour from this individual.

Good points Pix, I just wish that so many of the big faces of the team showed a bit more class....but I agree that overall we do have a respectable team with a lot of really good guys.

Sometimes the trouble is that if one expresses an opinion here that some responses start to feel a bit personal. I would hope we could all stay away from comments like those. I admit to not following other teams QB's or players as closely as ours, but I surely never had issues with recent Bears QB's like Erik Kramer, Jim Miller, or most of the myriad of alternatives that washed through the Bears teams over the years. Sometimes I did not feel they had the most talent or played the best, but I can only think of one or two of them who made a spectacle of themselves or presented as plainly unpleasant like the current guy does. Nor have I ever noticed a QB looking as consistently unpleasant as Cutler does.....to me, guys like Manning and Brady are much more like what I would wish for, presenting as professionals as far as I have seen. Also, I am quite aware that Cutler always appears as sour as he did here in the UK....that was my point. Which is particularly irritating knowing that the current guy has talent that dwarfs most of the previous QB's.... Good points about the guys from previous generations, perhaps I should keep that more in mind. I guess the fact that they played for peanuts and suffered and played with injuries regularly that modern players would not dream of overshadows some of that for me, rightly or wrongly. As far as not being perfect, I have a job working with the public which pays nowhere near Cutler money but would NEVER flip off cameras or behave in some of the ways that Cutler and Co do. It is not about being perfect, it is about being respectful, which is a choice. My honest hope is that football teams will feel pressure to hire players who act decently as well as play well and that this pressure will force better behaviour from players who would like to play and be paid well in pro sports. That is why I won't buy jerseys of players that I feel do not meet at least a minimal standard of decency. However, there are many players on the current Bears I am more than happy to buy jerseys of, i.e. Charles Tillman, Julius Peppers, Craig Steltz, etc...some of whom might not be all-pro caliber but whom as far as I have seen portray respectable behaviour and professionalism. I do apologise for being a sourpuss, I tend to keep my thoughts on issues like these to myself for the most part and will endeavour to do so more often in the future. I know most here don't agree and there is no use stirring up unnecessary trouble. Go Bears!

I believe that comments about issues like these become very philosophical and somewhat "non-football." As such, I will express my views in those terms. I do not wish to support a team which includes arguably the most important player of the team in question being photographed with his finger up to the camera. IMO this is inexcusably inappropriate for a representative of the Chicago Bears who earns millions of dollars per year. As such, I will be much less willing to part with my cash to purchase items related to the Bears, I am getting to the point that I only buy the "throwback" lines as I am completely unimpressed with the character of many of the main "faces" of the Bears, including Cutler, Urlacher, and Briggs. I watched Cutler closely during the Wembley game and he did not impress, he appeared arrogant and aloof, without any care for those watching. I hope in the future that the management of the club is more careful about the type of player they bring in, and understand that to wear a Bears jersey one should not only be talented but have a certain element of character. If players like Cutler keep appearing I will certainly disappear as a Bears fan.

Daventry Bears Fan was an unfortunate quick sign-up after being banned with another S/N name and being determined to return....and working in Daventry at the time. For those not familiar with the UK, Daventry is a smallish town in Northamptonshire....not too far from where Lady Diana grew up and is said to be buried.

Very classy.....and really not befitting of a QB for the Bears IMO. Grow up Cutler and act like a man instead of a 10 year-old punk.

I wish I did too Pix, in many ways, but my home is here in the midlands of England now, for good or bad. If I ever return for a visit I will certainly let you know and be happy to meet up. My parents came to visit last week and enjoyed themselves greatly, although they missed their Logli shopping trips....

At the time some thought it was a problem....I guess. That being said, I was not blameless as I posted after the playoff loss and was outspoken about my views. Regardless, if I thought this was a shi$ forum I would have moved on to the other myriad of options, but chose otherwise as I believe that most here love the Bears and and are real fans. But next time they boot me, I will not return.

I live in England now, life has moved me far away, but if you would like I can answer any quiz you would like regarding life in the area. I lived my first 40 years in the Rockford/Loves Park area so have at it if you like.

I got banned for posting anger that my views regarding my belief that Brian Urlacher should be traded had been removed from the site. I might add that I had posted some derogatory views regarding Cutler after our playoff defeat a year or two ago. I was not a popular poster...but I still have the same views regardless.

Indeed, 61111, Birkenshaw Lane, is where I did reside at the time I joined. Attended North Park Church of Christ and have all sort of history I could discuss....but felt quite disturbed at being outed as I was. Never mind, this is a great group here and I would prefer not to be booted again.

As one previously banned from this group I can say the admin can be suspect. There are some here, at least in the past, who had little tolerance for views that did not coincide with what they felt were acceptable. Hard to accept as a Loves Park boy...but oh well. Hopefully we can all post our views without concern about undue admin intervention, with the admin obviously aware that there are so many options open for opening a new username/address that it is impossible to avoid allowing all Bears fans, even those who have views formed from being fans from the last 50 years, to be allowed access here. So, if you don't see any more from me, know that this admin team does not allow views outside theirs to be tolerated. If so, there are lots of other Bears forums out there. LOTS.

Agreed!

Follow the money....Peyton is a business man and Washington will pay.

How to penalise those guilty of harming other players is a difficult question, but the first place I would be looking is the player. And in relation to the coaches, how does one define exactly what they knew and to what extent they endorsed specific actions? Are they giving money for big hits or injuries? Overall, I place more emphasis on personal responsibility. No matter what a leader says, the person is accountable. Not to say the leader has no responsibility, but certainly less than the actual person who committed the act. If someone made a plan to kill someone and someone else carried it out, who would go to jail?

Good point, but where do the players take responsibility for their actions? Who is more wrong, the player who laid out the hit or the coach who looked the other way when their players are likely quite involved in making arrangements for an extra few bucks, which I might add they obviously sorely need, to put a bit hit on a fellow player? Would you suggest that a coach get fired and allow the player to have a one-game suspension? Ooops, I forgot, this is the age of no one taking responsibility for themselves and blaming authority for everything....never mind.

I might see that as a good option, but keep in mind that this kind of thing has been going on since the NFL began and if you doubted it then this is evidence that it has. To keep all of those coaches, who are obviously quite good at their respective positions, from earning a wage and caring for their families, would be disastrous for them and ultimately unhelpful. If one took such action, there is no way that any reasonable person would assume the problem would be resolved The way to manage this is to take a significant, but fair, stance on the issue. Penalise but not too harshly, and give a clear signal to all what will be expected in the future. Ultimately, the fans will determine what is appropriate.

Could we make Briggsy happy and let him go and get this guy?

Yep, sorry about that, got it wrong...but Wanny was very questionably the top prospect that year....

Wanny wasn't even our first choice, McGinnis was....he certainly was not the top coaching prospect that year.